Is Reed College really so hard?

Camasite
Sun, 26 Jul 2020 21:24:13 +0000

I’m a Reed grad and yes, it is that hard. I had to work about 2x as hard as a undergrad at Reed than as a grad student at UW-Seattle. This is the message that they insert into the envelope when they send out Reed transcripts:

https://www.reed.edu/registrar/pdfs/grades-at-reed.pdf

ACADEMIC RIGOR
The average GPA for all undergraduate students in 2018–19 was 3.18 on a 4.00 scale. This figure has increased by less than 0.12 of a grade point in the past 25 years. During that period, only eight students have graduated from Reed with perfect 4.00 grade averages.

2018–19 GRADUATING CLASS
10% graduated with a GPA of 3.73 or higher
25% graduated with a GPA of 3.53 or higher
Average GPA—3.21
The absence of grade inflation at Reed reflects the rigor of the academic program and the high standards set by the faculty rather than any deficiency in the quality of the student body.

GRADING POLICY
Students are encouraged to focus on learning, not on grades. Students receive rigorous feedback on their work, and semester grades are filed with the
registrar, but, by tradition, students do not receive standard grade reports. Papers and exams are generally returned to students with lengthy comments but without grades affixed. There is no dean’s list or honor roll, and Reed does not award Latin honors at graduation.

SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP AWARDS
Reed students and alumni have won
32 Rhodes Scholarships (the second highest from a liberal arts college)
112 Fulbright Scholarships
68 Watson Fellowships
25 Goldwater Scholarships
179 National Science Foundation Fellowships
Nineteen Reed alumni have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. About nine percent of Reed alumni are CEOs, presidents, or owners of private companies.

RANKINGS OF GRADUATES
Reed ranks fourth in the nation among all institutions of higher learning in the per capita production of future PhDs in all disciplines. It ranks fifth in science and mathematics, third in social sciences, and fourth in humanities and art. Among more specific fields, it ranks second in life sciences, second in humanities, third in social sciences (not including psychology, education, and communications), second in psychology, and third in physical sciences. (Source: National Science Foundation and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data, based on doctoral degrees awarded 2005–2014.)